Sewing seeds of learning.
I'm pretty awful at gardening. At least I think I am. I always have the best of intentions. Buying high quality, heirloom seeds, deciding how much of what to plant when, carefully planning the layout to maximize sun exposure and optimize watering to ensure a beautiful, bountiful harvest. The freshly tilled soil that will soon burst forth with gorgeous, green sprouts.... wait.... are those WEEDS? Those can't POSSIBLY be weeds! I tried so hard. I planned so carefully. I put down the weed blocking stuff! Where is my picture perfect garden overflowing with a rainbow of healthy goodness?!!
THIS.... is my homeschool. Every year I pour over what I think we "should" cover that year, spend a RIDICULOUS amount of time searching for the perfect resources, an equally ludicrous span spreading the aforementioned resources across three balanced trimesters and it has mostly gone out the window within the first month. Then I realize I haven't properly considered learning style, subject interest or that pesky little matter of liking each-other in the midst of learning.
So I begin weeding. But I notice that there is such a variety of new growth coming from the soil, I am having difficulty discerning the baby plants from the baby weeds. If I become overzealous in my quest of a garden that is beautiful in it's appearance, I may accidentally uproot what may have become a fruitful row of beets or hill of cucumbers. On the other hand, I may have planted too many carrot seeds and that kale is WAY to close to the red lettuce. These will need thinning out or they'll compete for nutrients and choke out something else.
This is also true of learning. So glorious was the "picture," I've allowed the beauty of passionate knowledge seeking (water) and the joy of sharing that knowledge (sunshine) to take a back seat to my ego. I don't want to reap a crop of weeds and ego! What I REALLY want is to hear, "Woah... Mom, you've got to see this!" "I finished my note booking page. Can I read it to you?" or "I drew a V8 engine block. Wanna see?"
The decision to be present and relish the learning process instead of chasing the unattainable is like picking that first ripe cherry tomato. Warm from the morning sun and what a blissful burst of savory sweet when you pop it in your mouth! I"m so glad I allowed myself to ignored some weeds!